Episode Summary:

The Big Impression — Peggy Roe on Redefining the Travel Journey: From Loyalty to Living a Life Well-Traveled
Date: November 12, 2025 | Guests: Peggy Roe (EVP & CCO, Marriott International) | Hosts: Damian Fowler & Ilyse Liffreing

Episode Overview

In this episode, Damian Fowler and Ilyse Liffreing sit down with Peggy Roe, Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer of Marriott International, to discuss the company’s groundbreaking approach to hospitality marketing. The conversation dives into the launch of the Marriott Media Network—the hospitality industry’s first major foray into commerce media—as well as Marriott’s new campaign focused on the outdoors and how travel expectations are shifting. Roe shares insights on data-driven personalization, the evolution of Marriott Bonvoy, the impact of AI, the changing nature of loyalty, and the broader purpose Marriott serves in global communities.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Marriott Media Network: A New Paradigm for Hospitality Advertising

• Integration With the Traveler’s Journey:
  • Roe outlines the vision of bringing brands directly into the traveler’s experience, not just during the hotel stay, but “from the moment you start planning all the way through the end of your trip when you’re reliving your memories.” (00:48)
  • Emphasizes that the travel journey is not linear and can span months or even years.
• Personalization and Data:
  • Marriott pivots from straightforward hotel marketing to understanding individual members’ “passions and preferences,” boasting over 400 audience attributes for targeting. (02:22)
  • The network enables brand partners to enter the travel narrative at relevant touchpoints, enhancing guest experiences.
• Test, Learn, Iterate:
  • Success stories with Pepsi/Gatorade and Visa: Messaging shifted from generic ads to engaging travelers around hydration during travel, resulting in measurable uplift in hotel product sales. (03:24)
  • “What I love about it is test and learn. Right. You can iterate…see very measurable results right away.” (04:25)
  • Measurement and customization are core pillars.

2. Redefining Travel Post-COVID: Focusing on the Outdoors

• Understanding Passions, Unlocking Opportunity:
  • Roe notes post-pandemic travelers are craving experiences tied to music, culinary pursuits, sports, and “the outdoors.”
  • “Over 80% of the community was planning a trip for the outdoors in the next 12 months.” (04:59)
• Removing Barriers & Meeting Travelers Where They Are:
  • Many new outdoor enthusiasts want comfort—“more likely to plan a trip to go camping if there was a bed and a bathroom.” (05:16)
  • Marriott’s acquisition of Postcard Cabins and Trailborn bridges this gap.
• Merchandising Experience Diversity:
  • Marriott now categorizes properties to deliver on passions:
    • 100+ for skiing, 300+ for camping/hiking, 50,000 homes & villas, plus “thousands of moments, experiences, and tours.” (06:09)
  • New campaign received positive reception—travelers surprised by Marriott’s diverse offerings.

3. Consumer Insights and Data-Informed Personalization

• Audience Understanding Shift:

  • Moving from solely brand/hotel marketing to analyzing “the audience and the source markets that drive travel.” (07:12)
  • Recognizes travelers as multidimensional: trip motivations change based on company, circumstance, and intent.

• Active Community Engagement:

  • Marriott taps into a community of 10,000 members to get rapid feedback via direct questions (“on demand”).
  • They combine this with behavior data from the digital ecosystem.

4. Innovative Campaigns: The Drop Pin Challenge

• Gamification for Discovery:
  • Partnership with ambassador Dylan Efron: 20 “pins” dropped in outdoor destinations worldwide.
  • Members who find and scan pins can win 10,000 Bonvoy points. Encourages exploration of both destinations and nearby hotels. (08:22)
  • “It’s a campaign to get people out to go to school, discover these locations and also find the hotels.” (08:28)

5. Artificial Intelligence & the Future of Trip Planning

• Transforming Search and Discovery:
  • AI helps users move beyond rigid planning (“dates and a location”) to more open-ended, passion-driven exploration. (09:22)
  • “Discovery is about, hey, take me to a place that, you know, can give me X.” (09:52)
• Early Lessons:
  • At first, users didn’t know what to ask with open-ended search—Marriott needed to coach new behaviors.
  • Once unblocked, users began sharing passions and nuanced needs, enabling richer personalization.
• Endless Possibilities:
  • “Right? You could ask us anything. Like, how many points will it take to go to Italy? Like, where could I go to discover surfing?” (10:38)
  • AI will surface lesser-known destinations and align properties with individualized interests.

6. Measuring Success: KPIs & Loyalty Evolution

• Core Marketing Metrics:
  • Four KPIs:
    • Brand/Bonvoy consideration
    • Incremental room nights
    • Membership base growth (aiming beyond 250 million toward 1.4 billion travelers)
    • Deeper customer loyalty over a lifetime (the most valuable guests stay “over 14 years in the program”). (11:26)
• Demographic Reach:
  • Spans generations—engaging “when your parents take you on a trip,” evolving through college, career, and even into retirement. (12:39)
  • Expanding reach to younger travelers and the growing middle class.

7. Evolving Traveler Segments & Communications

• Solo & Female Travelers:
  • Growth in solo trips, especially among women and friend groups (girls’ trips), prompts need for community-oriented experiences and offers. (13:50)
• Channel & Platform Diversity:
  • Communications span SMS, WeChat, WhatsApp, mobile apps; most loyal customers use the app.
  • Rising influence of creators and social platforms on travel choices, especially among Gen Z.
  • “My own children, 14 and 17, are telling me about my own hotels through the creators that are influencing them today.” (14:28)

8. Travel Industry’s Ongoing Transformation

• From Beds & Wi-Fi to Experiences & Passions:
  • Roe reflects on two decades of evolution—when free Wi-Fi and quality beds were innovations (16:02).
  • The rise of experiential travel—people now journey for passions (music, sports, culinary).
  • Example: Taylor Swift Eras Tour drove travel to new destinations; artists now stay longer in places, fans travel to them (18:57).
• Resilience Against Market Headwinds:
  • Despite economic anxiety and inflation, spend on travel experiences remains strong. “While inflation might be affecting their purchases, it’s happening more in the physical things and not in the experiences.” (21:17)

9. ‘Lightning Round’ & Memorable Moments

• Travel Trend Roe Is “Obsessed With”:
  • Packing efficiency, especially revolving around shoes:
    • “I start with the shoes because the shoes are the problem with packing.” (21:55)
    • Tips for minimizing checked baggage.
• Favorite Marriott Memory:
  • Seeing Marriott’s positive impact globally, especially in Rwanda:
    • “To see a Marriott experience in Rwanda show up was just really something special for me...owners, banks, associates, and then the consumers...come together.” (22:57)
• Corporate Social Responsibility:
  • Marriott empowers local hotel managers and teams to form business councils for community service—“Good Travel” program.

10. The Future: New Destinations, More Personalization

• AI-Fueled Discovery:
  • AI will connect travelers with “first, second, third tier, fourth tier cities where we’ve built amazing hotels” that most people wouldn’t find otherwise. (25:12)
  • “Once you can start asking us for more recommendations, we can actually start telling you…”

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On redefining the travel journey:

  “From the moment you start planning all the way through the end of your trip when you’re reliving your memories...there’s a lot of opportunity for different brands and products to play a role in influencing that whole time.”
  —Peggy Roe (00:48)

• On the media network & partners:

  “Let’s take Pepsi’s products and their expertise around hydration, and let’s put that in the network...we saw an uplift in Gatorade, Gator Light, and hydration products in the actual hotels.”
  —Peggy Roe (03:24)

• On outdoor travel trends:

  “Over 80% of the community was planning a trip for the outdoors in the next 12 months.”
  —Peggy Roe (04:59)

• On travel’s evolution:

  “Travelers tell us they’re just so happy that there’s so many options that they can find that stand for quality and consistency and service around the world. But there’s so many permutations of how that comes to life and how local that can be.”
  —Peggy Roe (16:02)

• On AI’s transformative role:

  “Discovery is about, hey, take me to a place that, you know, can give me X...Right? You could ask us anything.”
  —Peggy Roe (09:52, 10:38)

• On resilience of experiential travel:

  “While inflation might be affecting their purchases, it’s happening more in the physical things and not in the experiences.”
  —Peggy Roe (21:17)

• On social and community impact:

  “We are a hotel, and that’s how we manifest ourselves. But...the associates that work in our hotels are really part of every country and fabric and culture.”
  —Peggy Roe (22:57)

Conclusion

The episode illustrates how Marriott is innovating beyond traditional hospitality by blending data intelligence, passion-based travel, and global scale—delivering both personalization and purpose. The conversation, driven by Peggy Roe’s experience and vision, points to a future where travel is more tailored, interactive, and meaningful, helping people live a “life well-traveled.”